Drive shaft for a wave-type loom

ABSTRACT

A drive shaft for use on a wave-type loom which is adapted to swing reed teeth that are arranged side by side along a pivot shaft parallel to the drive shaft and which has a helical exterior or profile against which the reed teeth bear so that the teeth are swung about the pivotal shaft when the drive shaft rotates, the drive shaft comprising an inner core of constant cross-section extending over its length and a plurality of elements which surround the core. The elements are arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction of the core and bear against each other. Also, the elements are rotationally connected to the core so that they will rotate with the core.

imited States Fatent Strauss [54] DRHVE SHAFT FOR A WAVE-TYPE LOOM [72]Inventor: Edgar H. Strauss, Ruti, Zurich,

Switzerland [73] Assignee: Ruti Machinery Works, Ltd., formerly GasparHonegger, Ruti, Zurich, Switzerland [22] Filed: March 9,1970

[21] Appl. No.: 17,725

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data March 18, 1969 Switzerland..4026/69 [52] US. Cl ..139/12 [51] Int. Cl. ..D03d 47/26 [58] Field ofSearch ..74/566-569; 139/12, 13, 79

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,233,633 2/1966 Fend..139/12 2,701,108 2/1955 Muschamp et a1, ..74/567 Aug. 29, 19723,124,164 3/1964 Ewing ..139/12 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS1,136,690 12/1968 Great Britain I 39/12 240,564 8/1962 Australia..139/12 Primary Examiner-Henry S Jaudon Att0rney-Donald D. Denton 5 7ABSTRACT A drive shaft for use on a wave-type loom which is adapted toswing reed teeth that are arranged side by side along a pivot shaftparallel to the drive shaft and which has a helical exterior or profileagainst which the reed teeth bear so that the teeth are swung about thepivotal shaft when the drive shaft rotates, the drive shaft comprisingan inner core of constant cross-section extending over its length and aplurality of elements which surround the core. The elements are arrangedin a row in the longitudinal direction of the core and bear against eachother. Also, the elements are rotationally connected to the core so thatthey will rotate with the core.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures DRIVE SHAFT FOR A WAVE-TYPE LOOM Thisinvention relates to a drive shaft for use on a wave-type loom and moreparticularly to a drive shaft for swinging reed teeth or dents arrangedside-by-side along a pivot shaft parallel with the drive shaft, thedrive shaft having a uniquely formed helical exterior or profile,against which the reed teeth bear and the reed teeth being swung aboutthe pivot shaft upon rotation of said shaft.

Wave-type looms are known in which the weftthread inserting elements orshuttles are driven and the weft-threads beaten up at the fabric beat-uppoint or fell by means of reed teeth which are swung about a shaft insuch manner that their movements as a whole assume an undulatory formwhich moves continuously over the width of the loom. The reed teeth aredriven by one or two drive shafts, each of which has a raised portionthat follows a helical path. The reed teeth are arranged along a pivotshaft which is parallel with the drive shaft and can be swung about thepivot shaft. The ends of the reed teeth bear continuously on the driveshafts and follow the raised portions and the sunk or depressed portionsof the profile of the drive shafts so that they are swung. The reedteeth are positioned at right angles to the longitudinal axis of thedrive shaft.

In order to obtain a woven material free from defects, the profile ordriving exterior of the drive shaft must be exactly uniform over itsentire length. The greater the length of the drive shaft the moredifficult it always becomes to meet this requirement. Furthermore, thedrive shafts are worn by the reed teeth, and the reed teeth by the driveshafts, and this wear shortens the service life of each.

Advantageously the drive shaft of this invention eliminates or verygreatly reduces these disadvantages. Thus, this invention contemplates adrive shaft for a wave-type loom which is further characterized in thatthe drive shaft comprises an inner core having a constant cross-sectionextending over its entire length and a plurality of elements whichsurround the core and which form the exterior or profile of the shaft,the elements are arranged in a line in the longitudinal direction of theinner core, and are also rotationally connected to the inner core.

The invention thus offers the additional advantages that the inner corecan be made of a material that imparts very high strength thereto, andthat the material used for the elements forming the profile can beselected to suit the needs of the reed teeth. In this connection, thefriction can be kept to a relatively low value. Furthermore, thematerial of the elements will be so selected that the wear which theelements and the reed teeth suffer is relatively small.

The invention will now be described in more detail by reference to oneof its embodiments and to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows the arrangement of the drive shafts of this invention in awave-type loom;

FIG. 2 shows the drive shaft-arrangement in greater detail;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of two associated drive shafts.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a drive shaft of this invention withcylinder-like elements intermediate the ends removed to reveal the innercore; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

In all the figures, like reference numerals indicate similar parts.

The wave-type loom or multi-phase weaving machine, shown in perspectivein FIG. 1, incorporates a warp beam 11. From this beam the warp threads12 run over the guide rollers 13 and 14 and through a warp threadmonitoring arrangement 15 and around a shedequalizing roll 16. The warpthreads 12 are formed into a plurality of sheds directly beyond theshed-equalizing roll 16 by means of a heald arrangement comprisingsubstantially horizontal heddles, not shown in the drawing. An open shed17 is present for each inserting member or shuttle l8, and a shed-changetakes place between each pair of adjacent shuttles 18 or open sheds 17.This situation is indicated in the drawing by ap propriate hatching. Forthe purpose of carrying out the weaving operation, there is provided aplurality of shuttles 18, which move one after the other andsimultaneously with the sheds 17. The shuttles 18 are moved forwards bythe blade-like reed teeth 19, which also act as drive members. Thesereed teeth also serve the purpose of beating-up the inserted weftthreads at the fabric beat-up point or fell 20. The shuttles 18 areguided in the sheds17 by the warp threads 12. The ends of bladelike reedteeth 19 are incorporated in the drive and support arrangement 21, whichis firmly secured to the loom frame 22. Two worm or drive shafts 23 and24 are provided in the arrangement 21 for imparting movement to the reedteeth 19.

When the drive shafts 23 and 24 rotate, the reed teeth 19 are swungabout a shaft in such manner that each of the blade-like reed teeth 19,during its cycle of movement, is a little ahead of the reed toothpreceding it. The teeth 19 as a whole execute an undulatory movementwhich, in the illustration of FIG. 1, proceeds from right to left andwhich carries along the shuttles 18. The sheds 17 also move from rightto left at the same speed. The woven material 25 is passed over thepull-in roll 16, and the pressure roll 27 and is rolled on to the clothbeam 28.

The portion of the arrangement indicated by the reference numeral 29 inFIG. 1 is shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 2. The arrangement indicatedby reference numeral 21 in FIG. 1 comprises a carrier 30, to which isconnected a pack of guide elements 31. Each guide element 31 is abroad-faced plate. These elements are arranged side by side parallelwith each other and are held together to form a pack by means of rods 32which pass transversely through each element. Between each two adjacentelements 31 is located a blade-like reed tooth 19. Each of these is heldin a straight position between the element 31 adjacent thereto, i.e., isprevented from bowing laterally. The reed teeth or blades 19 consist ofthin strips of metal. They are arranged side by side along the pivotshaft 33 and can be swung about this shaft. The carrier 30, togetherwith the pack of guide elements 31, forms two openings 34 in which thedrive shafts 23 and 24 are mounted. Each of the shafts has a helicalexterior or profile 35 and 36, respectively.

When the loom is operating, the drive shafts 23 and 24 rotatecontinuously in opposite directions. Swinging movements are imparted tothe teeth 19 in accordance with the raised portions of the profiles 35and 36 of the drive shafts 23 and 24. The profiles 35 and 36 are soselected that the end portions of the reed teeth 19 bear continuouslyagainst both profiles and, as already mentioned, the reed teeth execute,as a whole, an undulatory movement.

In order to obtain a woven material that is free from defects, theprofiles 35 and 36 of the drive shafts must be machined or made veryaccurately. In the case of wide looms considerable difficulties areencountered if the required accuracy is to be precisely maintained overthe entire length of the shafts 23 and 24. In the present embodiment,these difficulties are overcome by means of the form of drive shafts 23and 24 shown in Fig. 3. Each of these shafts consists of an inner core40, which is of constant cross-section. Individual camming elements 41are arranged in a row, side by side, and bearing against each other inthe longitudinal direction of the core 40, these elements as a wholeforming the profiles 35 and 36, respectively. The cross-section of theshaft 40 may be quadratic (i.e., square) for example. In this case, theelements 41 have openings which extend in their iongitudinal directionand are of likewise quadratic cross-section, which is minimally greaterthan the cross-section of the core 40, so that the elements 41 fitsnugly on the core 40. It should be noted that, for reasons of providinga simple illustration, the two shafts 23 and 24 in FIG. 3 are not intheir correct location in relation to their rotational position.

It can be seen that the elements 41 can be individually replaced if theycan slide along the core 40. If for some reason, certain points alongthe drive shafts 23 or 24 are more heavily stressed as a result, forexample, of the woven fabric to be produced, and thus suffer heavierwear than other points along the shafts 23 and 24, then the elements 41located at these points can be replaced separately.

it can be seen that the resistance to wear of the material of the core40 is not an important factor, so that this can be selected exclusivelywith a view to providing the greatest possible strength. The elements 41are advantageously produced from a material, that has little frictionresistance on the reed teeth. Since the elements 41 can be readilyreplaced, care is also taken to see that any wear takes place as far aspossible on the elements 41 and as little as possible on the reed teeth19. Polymethylene oxide has proved to be an advantageous material forthe elements 41.

It is of course advantageous if all the elements 41 of a shaft are ofthe same form. These can then be produced more economically and verygreat uniformity is obtained over the entire length of the drive shaft.The length of each of the elements is preferably equal to the distancebetween two helical lines or portions of the profiles 35 and 36,respectively, i.e., equal to a wholenumber multiple of the pitch of thehelical portion. As seen in FIG. 3, the length of the elements 41 isequal to the pitch of the helical raised portion.

An advantageous method of manufacturing the ele ments 41 consists infirst boring out a length of suitable material. With the help of atemplate, the profile 35, 36 is then formed by turning or milling, i.e.,by a machining operation. When the manufacturing operations arecomplete, the end-faces 42 are milled extremely accurately. The elements41 can however be manufactured by die-pressing.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, the blade-like reed teeth 19 are disposed atright-angles to the drive shafts 23 and 24 and their narrow sides oredges bear against these shafts. In order to prevent a tooth 19 fromfinding its way into the interstice between two adjacent elements 41,the ends of these elements meet at inclined faces 42. Expressed anotherway, the two end-faces 42 of the elements 41 are disposed in planeswhich are inclined to the longitudinal axis 44 of the drive shaft 23 or24. An advantageous range for the position of the planes or endfaces 42relatively to the axes 44 is obtained if the angle between the axis 44and the end-face 42 is between 60 and In the case of a joint formed atthe end-faces 42 between two elements 41, the joint, at two points 43 onits periphery, is nevertheless at right angles to the axis 44 of thedrive shaft. It is therefore important that the position of these twopoints 43 be so selected that the danger of a reed tooth 19 finding itsway into the joint at this point is as small as possible. The pressureacting on the blades should be as small as possible at the points 43 atwhich the tangent struck from the joints 42 is at right-angles to theaxis 44 of the drive shaft. In other words, the tangent at the points onthe joint in which a large force is applied to the blades should beinciined relatively to the axis of the drive shaft. A large force occursfor example along the raised edge 45 of the profile 36. Therefore, atthe point of intersection 46 of this edge 45 with the joint 42, thetangent struck from the latter should be inclined relatively to the axis44.

By using different materials for the core 40 and for the elements 41,the expansion of these parts will generally be different at differenttemperatures. These differences are advantageously absorbed by aresilient member 47 which is fitted at one end of each of the shafts 23and 24. As shown in FIG. 3, the member 47 is clamped between theelements 41 and the means 48 for securing the elements 41 to the core.Means 48 fits over the core and may be secured thereto by a set screw orother similar fastening means. The member 47 also causes the elements 41to be continuously pressed against each other even when the temperaturefluctuates. It is of course possible to provide a resilient member 47 atboth ends of the drive shafts 23 and 24.

It will be appreciated that the element 41 placed at the end of the coreadjacent to the resilient member 47 (which may be made of hard rubber orthe like material) may have its outer end-face disposed in a planeperpendicular to the axis of the core in order to bear against theresilient member. Also, the resilient member may be shaped to mate withan inclined endface of one of the elements 41 or (as shown) anintermediate element 41' may be provided which has one inclined end-faceand one perpendicular end-face.

What is claimed is:

1. A drive shaft for use on a wave-type loom adapted to drive reed teethindividually, which are arranged side by side along a pivot shaft whichis parallel with the drive shaft, said drive shaft having a helicalcontinuous exterior forming helically shaped continuous high and lowportions against which the reed teeth bear, the teeth being swung aboutthe pivot shaft when said drive shaft rotates, said drive shaftcomprising an inner core of constant cross-section extending over thewidth of the loom, a plurality of cylinder-like elements having a hollowinner section extending in the axial direction, said elements beingarranged in their axial direction in a row and longitudinally over saidcore, thereby surrounding said core and having their end faces bearingagainst each other, thus forming said high and low portions, saidelements being rotationally connected to the inner core, so that thecore and the cylinder-like elements will rotate together, each of saidelements being provided with a section of said helical continuousexterior and including a high portion and a low portion therein thatextends lengthwise and circumferentially of said element to form saidhelically shaped continuous high and low portions.

2. The drive shaft of claim 1 in which the elements are slidable in thelongitudinal direction of the inner core and can be individuallyreplaced.

3. The drive shaft of claim 2 in which the inner core is of quadraticcross-section and the elements contain straight-through openingsextending in their longitudinal direction, which openings are likewiseof quadratic cross-section, and the cross-section of the core isminimally smaller than the cross-section of the openings in theelements, so that the elements fit snugly on the core.

4. The drive shaft of claim 2 in which the elements are held at each endof the core by a securing means, and a resilient member is providedbetween at least one of the securing means and the elements so as to setup a biasing action whereby the elements are continuously pressedagainst each other.

5. The drive shaft of claim 1 in which the inner core is made of amaterial of great mechanical strength and the elements are made of amaterial which has a relatively small friction on the reed teeth and bywhich the reed teeth are subjected to relatively little wear.

6. The drive shaft of claim 1 in which the elements are made from amaterial containing polymethylene oxide.

7. The drive shaft of claim 1 in which the length of each of theindividual elements is equal to the distance between two helical raisedportions of the helical exterior of the drive shaft, said distance beinga wholenumber multiple of the pitch of the helical portions.

8. The drive shaft of claim 1 in which when the reed teeth arepositioned at right-angles to the drive shaft and bear via their narrowsides on the drive shaft,'the end-faces of the elements are disposed inplanes inclined to the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft.

9. The drive shaft of claim 8 in which the tangent at the outer limitsof the end-faces of the elements at the points on a raised edge of theexterior of the drive shaft are inclined to the axis of the drive shaft.

10. The drive shaft of claim 8 in which an angle of between 60 and isformed between the axis of the drive shaft and each of the planesinclined relatively thereto.

1. A drive shaft for use on a wave-type loom adapted to drive reed teethindividually, which are arranged side by side along a pivot shaft whichis parallel with the drive shaft, said drive shaft having a helicalcontinuous exterior forming helically shaped continuous high and lowportions against which the reed teeth bear, the teeth being swung aboutthe pivot shaft when said drive shaft rotates, said drive shaftcomprising an inner core of constant cross-section extending over thewidth of the loom, a plurality of cylinder-like elements having a hollowinner section extending in the axial direction, said elements beingarranged in their axial direction in a row and longitudinally over saidcore, thereby surrounding said core and having their end faces bearingagainst each other, thus forming said high and low portions, saidelements being rotationally connected to the inner core, so that thecore and the cylinder-like elements will rotate together, each of saidelements being provided with a section of said helical continuousexterior and including a high portion and a low portion therein thatextends lengthwise and circumferentially of said element to form saidhelically shaped continuous high and low portions.
 2. The drive shaft ofclaim 1 in which the elements are slidable in the longitudinal directionof the inner core and can be individually replaced.
 3. The drive shaftof claim 2 in which the inner core is of quadratic cross-section and theelements contain straight-through openings extending in theirlongitudinal direction, which openings are likewise of quadraticcross-section, and the cross-section of the core is minimally smallerthan the cross-section of the openings in the elementS, so that theelements fit snugly on the core.
 4. The drive shaft of claim 2 in whichthe elements are held at each end of the core by a securing means, and aresilient member is provided between at least one of the securing meansand the elements so as to set up a biasing action whereby the elementsare continuously pressed against each other.
 5. The drive shaft of claim1 in which the inner core is made of a material of great mechanicalstrength and the elements are made of a material which has a relativelysmall friction on the reed teeth and by which the reed teeth aresubjected to relatively little wear.
 6. The drive shaft of claim 1 inwhich the elements are made from a material containing polymethyleneoxide.
 7. The drive shaft of claim 1 in which the length of each of theindividual elements is equal to the distance between two helical raisedportions of the helical exterior of the drive shaft, said distance beinga whole-number multiple of the pitch of the helical portions.
 8. Thedrive shaft of claim 1 in which when the reed teeth are positioned atright-angles to the drive shaft and bear via their narrow sides on thedrive shaft, the end-faces of the elements are disposed in planesinclined to the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft.
 9. The drive shaftof claim 8 in which the tangent at the outer limits of the end-faces ofthe elements at the points on a raised edge of the exterior of the driveshaft are inclined to the axis of the drive shaft.
 10. The drive shaftof claim 8 in which an angle of between 60* and 80* is formed betweenthe axis of the drive shaft and each of the planes inclined relativelythereto.